Pain
by egoofy34
Summary: What happens when the team loses one of there own. Warning: Character Death. Please read and review. I added another chapter. I promise this is now really complete.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of a cell phone ringing woke Danny. He struggled to focus on the clock. 4:20am. That could only mean one thing, Mac. He reached for the phone, trying not to disturb the girl laying next to him.

"Messer." Danny said as he answered the phone.

"Danny?" Mac asked, a little confused from the other end.

"Yeah, Mac. What do you need? You realize what time it is, right?"  
"I have a double homicide at 310 Madison. Stella and I are already here but we could use some help."

"Sure thing Mac, I will be there soon."

"Oh, and one more thing. Tell Lindsay I need her to come also."

_Panic!!_ "Okay, but what makes you think I know were Lindsay is?"

"Because you answered her cell phone. See you both in a little while." and with that Mac was gone.

"Shit!!! Shit!!!! Shit!!!" Danny looked down and sure enough, instead of the his sleek, black cell phone, he was holding Lindsay's small pink cell phone.

"What's wrong honey?" Lindsay asked as she woke up.

"We are so busted!"

"Why, what do you..." Lindsay rolled over and immediately recognized the problem. "Is that my cell phone?"

45 minutes later, Danny and Lindsay arrived at the scene. One quick glance from Mac made chills run down Danny's spine.

"We are in so much trouble." Danny whispered to Lindsay as they crossed the yellow tape.

"Lindsay you are with Stella upstairs. Danny you are with me."

Lindsay shot Danny a supportive glance and quickly headed for the second floor where Stella was.

"Hey, Mac before we..."

"Not now, Danny. We will discuss this later."_ I know we should have told him sooner, Danny thought to himself. _ If he had looked closer he would have seen Mac flash a smile.

"Hey, Stel. What do we have?"  
"First of all we have a girl who did not tell her best friend she was seeing someone."

"Sorry Stella, I promise you when we are done with this case I will tell you everything."

"Okay, good enough for now. We have a 34 year old male. Single gunshot wound to the head. I need to get something from the car. Why don't you start processing the body."

"No problem." Stella was about half way out the door when Lindsay asked, "Hey Stel, Mac is going to kill us isn't he?"

"Probably." Stella said with a laugh and then headed down to the street.

Danny was taking pictures, while Stella had stopped to talk to Mac when they heard the first shot coming from the second floor apartment. Everyone stopped. Seconds later there was another shot. With that Mac, Stella and Danny were running for the door. About the time they reached the stairs they heard a third shot.

INSIDE--- Lindsay was processing the body when she a heard the sound of someone pulling the hammer back on a gun. She spun around, pulling her own gun out at the same time. Three feet from her was a man pointing a gun directly at her. Before she had a chance to say anything he fired. The bullet hit her in the stomach. The next few seconds were a blur. She fired her gun and as he fell he got off one more shot. This time hitting her in the shoulder. She was leaning up against the wall when she saw Danny rush in.

Danny saw Lindsay leaning up against the wall. He looked at her and then at the new body three feet away. He gave her a smile, silently thanking god that she was alright. Then he watched in horror as she slowly slide down the wall. Leaving a trail of blood on the wall behind her. He lunged forward and caught her before she hit the ground. That is when he noticed the blood on her shirt. She was wearing a black sweater and black pants and had not seen the blood before.

"Montana, baby. Hold on, okay. Please baby hold on." Danny could feel the tears in his eyes beginning to form.

"Oh my god, Lindsay!" Stella though she was going to pass out. There was so much blood.

"This is Detective Mac Taylor. I need a bus to 310 Madison. Officer down. I repeat officer down." Danny could hear the urgency in Mac's voice. The radio cracked, "We copy that officer down. 310 Madison. Bus is 2 minutes out."

"Hear that baby, help is coming. Just hold on." He pleaded as he reached for her hand.

"Danny..." Lindsay was trying not to leave, but she could feel the darkness creeping in.

"I am hear baby. Just hold on." Danny was kissing her fingers, when he suddenly felt her loosen her grip on his hand and her eyes slowly closed.

"No, Lindsay. Look at me. Damn it Lindsay open your eyes. Don't you leave me."

The EMT's arrived and began CPR. All Danny could be was watch. Once they were able to establish a pulse again they loaded her into the waiting ambulance. Danny, without hesitation climbed into the back with her. The hospital was only about 10 minutes away but for Danny it seemed like a life time.

He held her hand the entire way and only let go when they wheeled her into the ER. The doctors refused to let him in and a nurse ushered him the waiting room. A few minutes later Mac and Stella arrived, followed shortly thereafter by Flack and Sheldon.

"Holy shit man." Flack practically yelled as he rounded the corner and saw his best friend. Danny was covered in Lindsay's blood. Flack did not say another word. He went to Danny and threw his arms around him. The tears began to flow freely and Danny did not care who saw them.

Six hours had passed since Lindsay was rushed into emergency surgery. There only contact had been with a nurse who would come out every couple hours and tell them she was still in surgery. She would not give them any more details.

"I am looking for Detective Monroe's family?" asked the doctor who had appeared in front of them.

"I am her boss, Mac Taylor and this her boyfriend, Danny Messer." Mac said as he and Danny stood up. "Is she okay?

"I am afraid I have some bad news." Danny felt his heart sink. "We did everything we could, but the damage to her internal organs was too great. I am sorry to tell you but Detective Monroe passed away 20 minutes ago on the operating table." Stella let out a small gasp and was quickly steadied by Flack. Danny suddenly felt light headed and then everything went black.

Mac tired to catch Danny before he fell, but he reflexes where slow due to the shock of what he had just heard.

When Danny woke up he was lying on his bed. _Maybe it had all been a bad dream, he thought. Maybe it was a nightmare. That had to be it. Lindsay was probably in the kitchen making breakfast right now. _Suddenly he heard voices in the other room. He jumped from his bed and ran into the living room. His smile faded when he saw Stella sitting on his couch crying and Flack trying to comfort her. Then it hit him. It had not been a dream. Lindsay was dead. She was not coming home. Mac appeared from the kitchen. Seeing th pain in Danny's eyes he grabbed him and gave him a hug. Danny began to cry almost instantly.

"I am so sorry Danny. I know how much she meant to you."

"I loved her Mac. I loved her." Danny choked out through the tears.

"From a man who has been there. Trust me when I say, there are dark times ahead. Just remember we are all here for you and we will help you get through this." Mac felt the tears falling down his cheek. "The hurt will never go away but in time it will fade."


	2. Chapter 2

_"From a man who has been there. Trust me when I say, there are dark times ahead. Just remember we are all here for you and we will help you get through this." Mac felt the tears falling down his cheek. "The hurt will never go away but in time it will fade." _

They stood there for what seemed like forever. Tears continued to fall from Mac's eyes. He wanted so much to make everything better. He saw in Danny's eyes the hurt he felt after Claire died. Mac helped Danny over to the couch. The four of them sat in silence, nobody really knowing what to say. Finally Flack walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of his best friend.

"Hey man. I have no idea what you are going through right now. I cannot imagine. But I think you will feel better if you get cleaned up." Flack struggled to hold back his own tears. It was not until that moment that Danny realized that he was still wearing the bloody clothes from earlier. It was her blood. Lindsay's blood. The tears began to flow again, as Flack led him into the bedroom. After a few minutes they both returned to the living room.

"How are doing, Danny?" Mac asked as he sat down next to Stella.

"How could this happen?" Danny asked in almost a whisper. "I mean one minute we are happy. In love. Planning a future together and now she is gone. What am I going to do? I am not sure I can live without her."

"Listen to me Danny. I do not know why these things happen, but they do. You have to be strong now. It is okay to cry and it is okay to mourn, but you have to be strong. Lindsay would not want you to give up." Mac's heart was breaking with each sentence he uttered.

Stella, who had not moved since they arrived at the apartment several hours before, got up and sat down beside Danny.

"How long had you and Lindsay been together?" Stella asked as she placed her hand top of his.

"Six months." Danny replied. "We moved in together last month. It was the best six months of my life."

"That's great Danny. Those are the memories that are going to get you through this. Remember that."

"Thanks Stel. You know she really hated not telling you guys. Especially you. You were her best friend. You know that right?"

"Yes, I did," Stella whispered in his ear as she hugged him. "Lindsay meant a lot to me. She meant a lot to everyone." Stella pulled away and wiped the tears from her face.

They sat there in silence a while longer. It had been almost 9 hours since Danny's world was turned upside down and yet it seemed like only minutes had passed. The silence was suddenly broken when the door bell rang. Danny jumped up and practically ran to the door, like he had done so many times when he and Lindsay first started dating. He opened the door and saw a woman that looked exactly like Lindsay only 30 years older.

"Mrs. Monroe. When... How... Who.." was all Danny could spit out. He had completely forgotten about calling her parents. He closed the door behind her and led her to the living room.

"Detective Taylor called..." she was struggling to finish her thoughts. It was obvious to everyone that she had been crying from her blood shot eyes.

"I am so sorry Sarah. I am sorry..." but before he could finish he was interrupted by a warm hug.

"Sorry for what Danny?" She asked as Danny pulled away from her.

"I promised you and Tom that I would protect her. I promised I would keep her safe and I failed. I wasn't there for her when she needed me and now she is never coming back. It is all my fault."

"Daniel Messer stop it. You listen and you listen good. This is not your fault. Lindsay loved you and you loved her. You could not have known this was going to happen. You know as well as anyone the risks of doing what you do. It is not your fault and I will not have you blaming yourself. You hear me?" A simple nod from Danny and it was clear where Lindsay had gotten her strength from.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Monroe? I am Detective Mac Taylor. We spoke on the phone."

"Yes, Mac it is nice to finally me you. Lindsay..." struggling to speak her daughters name. "has told me a lot about you. All of you. But please call me Sarah. Now let me guess?" Sarah was now walking towards Stella and Flack who were still standing behind Mac.

"You must be Stella. Tall, beautiful with long curly hair. Lindsay has told me so much about you."

"That is sweet. She was my best friend. I will miss her terribly." Stella started to sway but was soon steadied as Sarah reached out and grabbed her shoulders and offered Stella a gentle smile.

"Not let's see. Detective Flack I presume?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Monroe. I am sorry, Sarah," he corrected himself. "I wish it was under better circumstances."  
"Me too son. Me too."

"Where are Tom and Chris?" Danny asked referring to Lindsay's dad and older brother.

"They had to take care of some stuff on the ranch before they left. The have a flight first thing in the morning. The Thompson's, from down the road, are going to look after the ranch while we are here."

In the next couple of days things returned to a somewhat normal state in the lab. Mac, Stella and Flack returned to work. After all Lindsay would not want them sitting around doing nothing all day. Mac forced Danny to take some time off and he spent the time helping the Monroe's make the final arrangements for their daughter. Much to Danny's surprise, the decided that Lindsay should be buried in New York City, the city that she had grown to love. Plus, they said that she would have wanted to be close to Danny. Mac made sure that she received a full NYPD funeral. With all of the pomp and circumstance that went with it. Having never actually seen Lindsay in her uniform, Danny insisted that she not be buried in it, rather in a simple black dress that she had bought just weeks before. Her uniform, however, was placed as the foot of the coffin along with her badge. Danny's only other request was that her family, his family and all the members for lab be at the service 15 minutes early, but he refused to tell them why.

Flack, Mac and Stella arrived shortly after her family and Danny's family arrived. Mac and Flack were in full dress uniforms. Sheldon and Adam arrived a little while later. Danny was the last to show up and he too was in full dress uniform. Stella could not help but smile when she saw him. _I never thought I would see the day when Danny would be in full NYPD Dress Blues. Only for you Lindsay. Stella thought to herself. _

Once everyone was seated, Danny walked to the front and looked down at the face of the woman he loved.

"You know that we had only been dating six months, but I loved her with all of my heart. She was my everything. From the first time I met her at the Central Park Zoo I knew that she was special. She was smart, beautiful, one hell of a CSI and would not take any crap from anybody. Especially me. She was strong and determined, like no other woman I have ever met before. Except maybe you Stella." For the first time since he started talking he looked up and gave Stella a big grin. "Two weeks ago I bought this for her." Danny reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. Stella gasped and you could her Lindsay's mother begin to cry. "I was going to ask her next week at the Annual CSI Holiday Dinner. Now that will never happen. I know in my heart she would have said yes and I wanted all of you here when I placed this ring on her finger." As he said those words he lifted up her left hand and slipped the engagement ring on her ring finger. " I love you Lindsay Monroe and you will always be my Montana."

The End.


End file.
